


Erasing Ink

by hyacinthh



Category: MARIKIN online 4 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Angst, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Healing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Found Family, Gen, Hanging Out, Healing, Heartfelt Conversations, Kirimi is a jerk alright, Lots of Angst, Memories of dead characters, Post-Canon, Psychological Trauma, Spoilers, Spoilers for MO4, Trauma, fights and battles, yeah this is a jeraldy amnesia au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26514874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyacinthh/pseuds/hyacinthh
Summary: Everything hurt. He felt as though he was looking through red stained glass. The soft buzzing in his ears and the growing pain in his stomach made him feel sick to his stomach. Not to mention his tattered, drenched, and heavy suit that made walking even harder than it already was.He didn't even know who he was. Nothing came to mind. He was scared, confused, and desperately lost. The only clue to his past was standing in front of him, just as battered and out-of-breath as he was, staring back at him with sharp purple eyes.The same eyes that stared back at him through nothing but pity.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1: Falling From The Sky

It was a bad day.

Somewhere down in the expansive and vast facility that was the Miley Cooperation, screens that were supposed to be displaying the internal workings of the Catastrophe had fizzled out into static and had gone red. One by one, each of them blinked offline, with the same big, bold, red letters emblazoned on the monitors - [CRITICAL ERROR.]

That was before they were furiously shattered and smashed by the wave of a hand.

The Scientist brashly got up, several things wobbling and falling from the sudden force. Without even sparing a glance back at the mess he had made, he made a beeline for the nearest window, several thoughts -some of which terribly graphic and blazingly angry- rushing through his head.

Kirimi’s first impression of failure was not particularly positive. Not that failure usually was, but the sight of a giant blazing ball of five years worth of research and engineering breakthrough trailing through the sky was understandably infuriating.

They had spent hours perfecting the Catastrophe. From the tiniest microprocessors to the great mega-chambers housing technology the world had never seen, the mech was perfect.

But, as the combusting hulk of flaming metal in the sky kindly demonstrated, there had been a flaw that had evaded the Scientist’s rapt attention. Which meant that he had failed. All those years of scheming and sleepless nights dedicated to the Plan - all rendered to dust.

No.

He hadn’t failed.

A single, stark red pupil stared through the window of the facility, its brief panic turning into malicious anger. He wasn’t the cause of this. His eyes flickered back to the monitor room, staring back at the cracked red screens.

>[CRITICAL ERROR.]

>[SHUTDOWN IMMINENT.]

>[CALCULATING FURTHER ACTION.]

A pause.

>[DEPLOYING EMERGENCY CRASH PROTECTION.]

>[2 LIFE SIGNAL(S) DETECTED.]

His gaze fell back onto the fireball through the window. Watching as it plunged into the sea.

Tantalizing minutes ticked by, each second feeling like a gut-wrenching punch to the gut -but the screen stayed red and empty. The fire had long been doused by the sea - smoke was rising from where the mech had landed. The noises outside started to die down. Perhaps the monitors had crashed and died. Perhaps he had gone a little too far in taking out his anger.

Perhaps He had died.

Plan-wise, His death would be an extreme inconvenience in the long-term. There were far too many things that he himself was not willing to do. Or rather, not get his hands dirty with. Not to mention that he didn’t exactly have the same public grandeur and charm that He had - he was charming and polite, yes, but he excelled best in private, face-to-face confrontations. He wasn’t a chairman.

But on a personal level? That was… quite a different story.

Kirimi let out an irritated sigh. He was tired of waiting. He had already waited for five years - and he wasn’t keen on waiting any more. Things were done best when done by yourself, after all. There was no waiting for somebody who may have perished along the way.

There were more important things to tend to.

The door clicked shut as he closed it.

>[...]

>[2 LIFE SIGNAL(S) DETECTED.]

—————

Something was wrong.

And it wasn’t just the numbing sensation of having just broken a couple ribs or joints.

Or the cold of his drenched coat pressing against his skin like a wet paper towel.

Or even the smell of smoke and ashes that filled his lungs that made it near impossible to breathe.

He had no idea who he was.

He had no idea what had happened.

He didn’t even know his own name.

But he did know that he was scared. Terrified, disoriented, and confused. What was going on? Why couldn’t he. Just. _BREATHEICAN’TBREATHEWHAT’SHAPPENINGTOME_.

His world was violently spinning and lurching, and his eyes were starting to see double. If he tried to get up he feared his stomach would give in and vomit.

No, he had to focus.

_Focus, focus, focus._

But the sun was so bright. The sun hurt his eyes and its light was radiant and unwelcoming and powerful and blindingly bright, bright, bright-

_Focus, focus, focus._

You don’t even know where you are you don’t know yourself you’re going to die _die die DIE_ -

_Focus, focus, focus._

He could hear waves. The water in his mouth was salty. Which meant he was near an ocean.

He could smell smoke. Heavy smoke. Which meant there had been a fire.

But where did the fire come from-? Ah.

He squinted at the vague blob -the source of the smoke- off in the distance, sticking out of the sea like a jutting rock. Now that his vision cleared a little, it appeared to be sinking. What was that? It didn’t look like anything natural. It was stark-white and gigantic, with a roughly humanoid shape. Smoke was trailing out of the mech’s remains, and from what he could make out of it, it was starting to fall apart.

Who could’ve built that?

And why?

A staggering pain jolted him out of his thoughts, as he subconsciously clutched his ribs with his right arm. His arm-that-hurt-significantly-less-than-the-other. There was no denying it- needed proper medical help. And fast. Either the world had decided to dim the lights a little, or he was in very big trouble. Judging by his luck so far, he needed to get up and get to…

He had no idea where to go. Hell, he didn’t even know where he was. But he had to get somewhere. Somewhere where he’d get help.

He was wearing a suit. He could see it now - now that his eyes had adjusted to the sun and his mind was substantially clearer. Albeit wet and torn at the edges, it was set with a tie and lengthy coat tail, accented by a bright yellow contour. It was awfully showboaty. Perhaps he was a businessman or an accountant of sorts. But then what was he doing here…?

The suit was damp and heavy, but for now, it was the only thing that he could really call his. Maybe - and speaking on an extra hopeful note - it was some vague clue to his past.

Alright, so that was one thing covered.

Small steps.

The next one was significantly harder.

Sucking in a breath to try and ignore the jarring pain in his ribs, he started to push himself off the ground. His shaky, scratched hands sank into the gritty sand as he staggered to his feet, squeezing his eyes shut as his joints ached and screamed for him to fall back down.

But, by some miracle, he was up.

His vision gave a frightening lurch, but with a few heavy breaths, and a moment just to clear his head, he managed to stumble forward a few steps. Alright, that was easy enough. Now to find out where to go.

Anywhere away from here.

Glancing around the sandy beach he currently found himself in, purposefully not looking at the smoking burning wreck behind him, he found himself with a few options.

There was a wooded thicket leading away from the sea, with dozens of treetops as far as he could see. Likely full of unwanted attention he could potentially receive, and most definitely dangerous for an injured man to trek through without company.

Maybe he could try and swim out to the smoking wreckage? Perhaps there was a clue to his past or some communications device that hadn’t completely burned up by now. His brain shot that idea down almost immediately- the whole thing screamed bad idea. The mechanical… something was way too far out into sea. Hell, he didn’t even know if he could swim.

Or, he could follow the beach shore - with some luck, he could possibly find an open path leading away from the beach, hopefully to a nearby town or a seaside village. Civilisation was what he needed the most right now. Somebody.

The seashore seemed to be the best option. Focusing tight and hard on his current goal, he started towards-

What.

His hand- the one he was holding his side with - it was completely smeared in red. He was bleeding. Badly. His brain was practically screaming at him to panic - but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even feel anything. Everything was numb.

He had to keep moving. Just keep moving. Get to where he could be safe. _And get there fast._

—————

It looked like the stars were fighting.

There wasn’t anything like it. A purple streak in the sky- blazingly bright and had wings- was clashing with something white and huge in the sky, which sent out large bursts of bright, concentrated -and most definitely dangerous- beams of light.

Onlookers watched as sparks flew from their duel, as the purple streak of light dodged and weaved through the bright white lasers emitting from the larger figure.

But just like that - it was over. Nobody could tell which side came out victorious from the catastrophic explosion that erupted in the sky, which had sent a deafening sonic boom through the air. Both lights plunged into the ocean, leaving nothing but smoke and a distant lump sinking in the sea.

The civilians of the Gapanese Empire watched on nervously. With good reason. There were rumours that the Miley Cooperation had been preparing something. A wonder of never before seen technology - something that would change the world. A Catastrophe.

The Miley Cooperation had closed its doors that day.

There was no announcement, no flashy public speech, not even a goodbye. It had quietly locked its doors and abandoned itself. All the employees that had formerly worked at the Miley Cooperation had left. Fairly undramatically - they were all sick of all the bullcrap that the company spat out at them. But -if things weren’t strange enough- if you squinted at the chimneys of the facility long enough, you could see smoke steadily flowing out of the supposedly abandoned facility. _Surely nothing,_ most thought to themselves, s _omebody had simply forgotten to turn off an engine._

But those who could put two and two together knew that those flashes in the sky that day weren’t just a lightshow gone wrong.

But, as strange as it felt, life continued. Sure, there was unease and a feeling of dread, and the strange evidence of a different large, mechanical wreck nearby - but even that would fade. Either to be scooped up by scrap collectors looking to make a quick buck, or ominously disappear one day, by a typical mysterious force.

The Gapanese Empire had gotten quite used to mysterious forces by now.

And with all things considered, maybe the disappearance of a company that made potentially destructive technology wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

—————

How long had it been? He had been trudging along the seashore for a long, long while, and he was starting to get dangerously lightheaded. The pain in his ribs and head - which had been rather lenient with him up until now - had started to become absolutely excruciating with every step he took. Surely somebody would see him? _Surely_ sometime, somehow, he’d get somewhere?

But it’s been hours, the larger, louder side of his brain whined, slow and droning as though his thoughts were walking through mud, if there was anything out there they probably wouldn’t help you anyways.

His legs finally gave out to the powerful exhaustion urging him to rest. Breathing heavily, he collapsed back onto the sand, for the fifth time since he had started moving. He was sleepy, and tired, and thoroughly unwilling to get back up again. He wanted to sleep - though he knew he couldn’t - he wouldn’t wake up- but surely a little rest wouldn’t hurt anybody.

He barely had a choice at this point. His legs would buckle if he tried to walk an inch more, his ribs felt like they were falling apart, and his head was screaming at him to give up. Not to mention the lingering heavy smoke in his lungs that were probably also full of seawater that he didn’t quite cough up yet.

 _What if I don’t wake up?_ His brain asked himself the fear of the long sleep returning again.

 _What’ll you stay awake for?_ His brain responded to itself, quieter this time.

_Who’ll miss you?_

_It’s… better… if… if…_

There was somebody by the shore.

His eyes snapped open at the last possible second, that tiny bit of hope left in his mind going off like a firework. Getting up again seemed much easier when there was even a chance of somebody to help him. He blindly stumbled forwards a few steps towards the resting figure in the distance, furiously ignoring his screaming lungs and his aching bones.

Now that he was a little closer, there was no doubt about it. They - whoever they were - were sitting idly by the shore, looking a little weathered and tired out. They were staring off at the smoke in the distance, the look on their face placid and unreadable, with a devil-may-care expression and a certain cynical look that may have intimidated him - if he wasn’t so utterly desperate.

No - all too soon- they were turning away now - they were getting up to leave and he was too far, far too far away for them to see him and soon he’d be gone and-

Panic set off like fireworks in his brain as he hurriedly attempted to rush forward, only to stumble and nearly fall over.

“Wait-!”

His voice shook and broke, the effort to cry out too great for his fragile lungs as he broke into another fit of coughing.

But by some miracle, the figure seemed to notice - and turned.

His head was far too dizzy with relief, pain, and exhaustion to see their reaction - just knowing they knew he was there was enough to let his mind rest.

He could hear them approaching - albeit a little slowly at first, but they were coming and he was surely going to receive help. Though, he hoped they’d hurry up a little - the edges of his vision were starting to cave into darkness, which was not at all promising.

But suddenly, far too abruptly, he was pushed upwards from his pitiful stance, rough hands on his shoulders holding his shoulders and head up to stare back at the stranger. He winced at the jolting motion, taking a moment to adjust before peeking out from the corner of his eye to meet their gaze.

Strikingly purple eyes met fearful green ones, one pair terrified and confused while the other searching and furtive.

“Holy _shit_ \- Jeraldy - you’re alive-? How did you survive?”

“W-What-? What do you mean- who-?” He managed to squeak out, grimacing as the pain in his ribs worsened from the sudden movement. The stranger’s voice was bold, blunt, and unapologetically scathing - it sounded like they hated him.

“God you look terrible. Worse than, uh,” The stranger paused for a moment, looking him over before biting the corner of their lip and hastily continuing, “-We need to find you some help. Jeez, I can’t believe you actually went through with-”

“W-What do you mean? What are you- I-I don’t know- who are you-?” He stuttered awkwardly, pathetically attempting to push the stranger's hands off his shoulder, though the effort was far too painful for him to make any actual progress. Meanwhile his mind was in a state of absolute panic and chaos trying to piece together what was happening. The stranger - whoever they were- they sounded like they knew him. More than he himself. And that name - Jeraldy - was that him? It didn’t fit the context if it was anybody else’s.

Everything was a blur. And a frustrating blur. He couldn’t remember anything. Nothing came to him when he saw the stranger’s face, nothing came to him when the stranger spoke his name, and nothing came to him at all. And it seemed that the stranger started to notice as well, the slow and sceptical realization creeping onto his features.

“What-? Jeraldy- what do you mean you ‘don’t know’?” The stranger asked slowly, annoyance - and most possibly suspicion - sinking into their voice. “‘Who are you’-? What are you talking about?

There were far too many questions he was being asked, and far too little answers in the air. He just wanted to rest; he was sleepy and tired and hurt and confused, and he didn’t somebody bombarding him with questions without answers.

“I don’t know.” He- Jeraldy- rasped, his voice on the verge of giving out. “I don’t know what you mean and I don’t know who you’re talking about. I don’t even know who I am. I need help.”

The stranger stared. And stared some more. He didn’t notice it at the time - but the stranger had taken their hands off his shoulders, conflicting emotions shifting through his expression.

“You’re joking. No- you’re not - you don’t- this isn’t funny, you know.” The stranger warned, glaring a little, as though it would make a difference. Feeling a little put on the spot, Jeraldy hastily shook his head, looking a little pathetic as he practically begged the stranger to believe him. “I don’t know. I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what I’m doing or what I did. Please - I need help.”

A long, excruciating moment passed as the stranger observed him carefully, as though they were taking apart every single feature on his face to pry the truth from his mind. Either way, something must’ve clicked, he could’ve swore the stranger’s gaze softened by an inch- though likely out of pity, and offered a reluctant hand to him.

“Alright. We’ll deal whatever-“ They gestured vaguely at Jeraldy, “-this is later. You’ve got to be able to stand straight at least.”

His shaky hand fell into a firm grip as the stranger hoisted one of his arms over their shoulders, sparing Jeraldy of some extra effort to keep himself standing. He could hardly choke out any word of thanks at this point as he fell into another bout of coughing, though the overwhelming relief on his face illustrated his point nicely.

“Hey,” The stranger suddenly started, casting a mildly concerned look down at his struggling companion, “Take it easy, alright? You might rip something. Don’t pass out or anything, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to carry you all the way to the nearest village.”

Mustering a little bit more strength at the stranger’s motivation, Jeraldy peered back up at them, albeit squinting a little to block out the blinding sun.

“I-I… I didn’t catch… your n… name…?” He murmured, out of breath and through scratched lungs.

For a moment, he thought that the stranger hadn’t heard him, until they finally turned their head a little to meet his eyes. Looking uncertain for the first time since they had met, they replied in a strained voice. “You… don’t really need to know that. Just hang tight, alright?”

Not a clear answer in the slightest, but he didn’t have the energy to pry any further. So he responded to the situation the only way he could. He blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2: Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KJBEKJBFJSJKBGKJSDNK I'M SO SORRY THIS IS LIKE A MONTH LATE I'LL TYPE FASTER NEXT TIME I PROMISE!!!

_The cold chains that held the swings to the pole above were starkly cold in the late autumn wind, making it rather difficult for his ungloved hands to keep a good grip. It didn’t seem to bother the young boy beside him - they were only a month or so older, but far bolder, swinging standing up and occasionally showing off by pretending to fall._

_Bright yellow, pupil-less eyes that were far too sharp for a boy of his nature stared off into the distance. They were also quite a chatterbox, relentless drabble pouring out of their mouth that showed no sign of stopping, decorated by the occasional comment from the other. Their day, schoolyard gossip, complaints about teachers - everything was exchanged between the two unlikely best friends._

_And he enjoyed the conversation - or at least, he thought he did. He was smiling, wasn’t he? And now he was laughing, the other boy practically beaming at the indirect praise for a small joke._

_He was happy here. The empire could’ve been the only place in the world, and he wouldn’t have minded a bit, as long as he had his best friend by his side and…_

_And…._

And then he woke up, the blissful dream disappearing, replaced by the gnawing pain in his ribs. However, he didn’t expect the pain to have seemingly faded a touch, on the edge of becoming bearable. Neither did he expect to be lying down in a tent of sorts, with the sounds of a crackling fire in the distance. 

Panic rose like a blooming flower in his chest, finding himself disoriented in the new environment as his breathing quickened in worry. He had to focus - things are alright. This is fine. There was no need to panic. He had met somebody who would help him. Him- Jeraldy. There was a fire. Something had fallen into the ocean. _He_ had fallen into the ocean. And he… he...

He was alive.

Well, he had certainly been taken care of. The sides of his ribs and arm had been bandaged, along with the thick scent of bitter medicine still hanging in the air despite him not remembering taking any. And, as he calmed down, he realized that breathing had suddenly become much easier - despite the lingering saltiness in his mouth and remnants of the smoke. Nevertheless, he was feeling quite a lot better than before. Maybe even well enough to stand. _Only one way to find out_ , he thought to himself, feeling a little bold. 

Hauling himself up only slight difficultly, he dared to try and totter a few steps forward in a bold attempt to find his footing. His immediate stumbling was more than enough evidence that his motor controls were still a little out of wack. Despite that, it only took two or so more tries before he had gotten the hang of things, the aching in his feet becoming easier and easier to bear with every step. 

_Alright,_ he thought to himself, the sheer relief of his survival only just starting to hit him, _things are looking up._

He tentatively pushed aside the two flaps, only to find (unsurprisingly), the stranger who had helped him. Who had saved his life. Whose face still didn’t have a name.

Jeraldy hesitated, his brain struggling to come up with a way to start the conversation - but it felt like every possible good thing to say had completely abandoned him at that moment. It might’ve just been his complete lack of understanding or recollection of well, _everything_ that had stalled his thought process, but there was no good way to start a proper introduction when he knew absolutely nothing about himself.

Luckily, he didn’t have to speak first, as the stranger had immediately turned to meet his gaze with a half-amused half-sorry expression on their face.

“Oh, you’re awake. Feeling better?” He asked wryly, though something in his voice told Jeraldy that he wasn’t entirely speaking out of genuine concern for his well-being. Nevertheless, he responded with a brisk nod, which seemed satisfactory. 

“I took you to the nearest village. Patched you up in a couple of hours - though there are a couple of funky-smelling liquids you still need to take daily for the next couple weeks for your lungs and chest.” They said with a light hum, sitting in front of the fire and subconsciously poking at the kindling. Jeraldy’s gaze flitted over to their arm - which had been bandaged from their shoulder to their wrist. Though he was in certainly worse shape than the stranger, he couldn’t help but instinctively feel a twinge of guilt for busying them with his wounds when they had their own to deal with.

“We couldn’t stay there for long, though,” the stranger continued meeting Jeraldy’s eye with a strange expression for a moment, “-there’s been an influx of the more critically injured. Something to do with falling debris from the Catastrophe. And, y’know, the usual idiots.”

“The- sorry- what-?” Jeraldy finally managed to stutter out, immediately regretting how childishly clueless he sounded. 

“Oh.” The stranger stared back at him, their unmoving placid expression hiding what surely must be a spaghetti of conflicting emotions behind it. “Uh. The thing that was sinking in the ocean. You saw it, right? You… remember what happened, right...?”

How could he possibly forget the large hunk of steel and fire that had been leaking the smokes and ashes of destruction? A thing that large and a thing that utterly broken wasn’t the best thing to see the moment he opened his eyes on the beach. One of the only couple of things he could remember with clear certainty.

Another thing that he knew was that he had quite good intuition. It might’ve been something to do with how his brain worked a mile a minute, especially during episodes of stress and panic, but now that he wasn’t in a life or death situation, he finally started to take notice of how easily his brain snapped things together. Within a snap, Jeraldy could already tell that the stranger in front of him was no fool -they _knew_ that he couldn’t recall a thing- but despite this, they had inquired whether he could recall any affiliation with the burning mech in the ocean. 

Which meant that whatever that _thing_ in the sea was, he was connected to it, and his memory of such was important. 

No pressure.

“I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything since I woke up on the beach and met you.” And then the term came to him as though he always knew it, weighing heavy on his tongue as he spoke. “I have _amnesia._ ”

The stranger reacted no differently from when he had first mentioned his lack of recollections - perhaps even a little worse as the proper term was used.

A long and exhausted exhale and possibly a silent swear or two later, the stranger looked up from the ground back at Jeraldy with a tired look in his eye.

“...What am I going to do with you? I mean- this is _insane_ . And not in a good way. _Everything._ You’ve forgotten _everything._ ” 

Jeraldy didn’t have to nod to confirm his fears.

The stranger grimaced and sighed, as though simply looking at him caused him fatal head pain. “You know. Maybe that’s for the best. I mean, you’re not trying to… well, uh, you’re not trying to do anything brash anymore. There’s that. And I guess you could kind of… start over? Well shit, that sounds cheesy. _And_ I sound like an ass for saying that. Does anything feel familiar about… Kirimi? Jungle? Er- fire, maybe?” For a moment, though Jeraldy was sure he was imagining it, they sounded a little guilty.

Nevertheless, nothing quite formed in his brain at the mention of those words. Part of him was starting to feel uneasy - was he supposed to? Well, obviously, but to what degree was yet to be revealed. “N-Not really. Is that- are they important? What did you know about me?”

There was a long pause as the stranger eyed him up and down, seeming to be choosing their next words rather carefully. “Listen. We weren’t really… ‘best friends’. Hell, three hours ago you were trying to… well. It doesn’t matter now, alright? You don’t remember. It’s not _your_ fault. All things considered, it was probably mine. Not everyone’s going to take kindly to you - with memories or without. Whoever they’re seeing isn’t you anymore. At least not right now. I don’t know if this is going to be a… permanent thing. It wasn’t for me.” There was a split second of hesitation as a fleeting look of regret crossed their face before they plowed on. 

“You’re Jeraldy Mazaingo. Ex-CEO of the Miley Cooperation. You were an engineer there- probably rich, really smart, responsible for the modernization of the Gapanese Empire. You kind of hated my guts. You and most everyone else in the company. Can’t blame you. It’s disbanded now - or at least, there’s nobody left to run it. There’s only you left. I doubt you’d want to. It kind of blew up a little.” The stranger finished with a lame attempt at a sorry look, almost immediately looking away from Jeraldy’s flabbergasted eyes. 

He was a CEO-? There was a company - _his_ company - Miley Cooperation- he was an engineer and he had _friends_ there- or at least used to- it was blown up. People who knew him and - the stranger had mentioned that he had used to hate him. Why? How could he have possibly hated _them_? He was sure he hardly had a single bad bone in his body - right? And he couldn’t remember a single inch of anything that had happened. 

It was too much to process all at once.

But it wasn’t even the whole truth, was it? Jeraldy stared back at the purple-eyed figure sitting across from him. No, it couldn’t be. There _had_ to be _more._

He took a seat on the log opposite to the stranger, trying not to show his distress but blatantly failing. He had a whole life - and it was all gone. Everything was wasted. He didn’t even know _what_ was wasted. Was he happy? Was he satisfied with being some CEO of some company, being wealthy and intellectually gifted while engineering _something_ that he didn’t even remember making? Jeraldy grimaced everything about the situation feeling _wrong_ in all the worst ways. How could he even mourn the loss of something he didn’t even know? How could he mourn _people_ he didn’t know? People who he could’ve shared life and happiness with, and people whose legacies would be lost with him. It felt like being disappointed in a version of himself that he wasn’t even sure existed. Who _was_ he? 

“Hey,” The stranger’s voice dragged him out of his thoughts, sounding much gentler than he was prepared for, “Don’t think about it too hard, alright? Paranoia and memory crises aren’t going to help you remember anything. Like I said - it’s better to just move on. Uh, pretend I said something motivating about life and building something new out of nothing, alright? Bachikin’s better at this stuff than I am.” He said in a lighthearted joking manner, in a last-ditch attempt to lighten up the mood. Which worked to a certain degree, as Jeraldy spared him a small smile. If anything, he was trying to delude himself into lifting his spirits just as much as they were. 

After all, it wasn’t just every day that you find out that you’ve gotten amnesia and had forgotten a huge chunk of your life that may be the cause of external hate that will come back to bite you in the rear. 

Which wasn’t a great thing to learn on his second day of not remembering a single thing he’d ever done.

But then another concern (as if he didn’t have enough already,) hit him.

“You’re… going to leave me eventually, aren’t you?” Jeraldy asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking - though he was almost a hundred percent sure that the stranger had noticed.

“What-? Of course not! Well, I guess if you mean in a literal stance- then probably, yeah. I have my own life to get back to. But not anytime soon- not when you can’t even spell your name.” Looking a little sheepish, the stranger turned to stare off at the sky, clearly doing a bit of thinking. “I dunno. I was planning on staying out of the picture for a bit. Maybe a week or so. Y’know, to think things through. But then you came along and everything got complicated. I’m not blaming you or anything, it’s just… I wasn’t planning to be bunking out here with public enemy number one with a brain that got fried. Sorry.”

“None taken,” Jeraldy mumbled towards the ground, subconsciously fiddling with his thumbs. 

Well, they weren’t exactly the best at putting things lightly. It saved time, Jerlady supposed, but it sure didn’t help his self-consciousness of burdening others. A tiny part of him wished to be back in caveman survival brain mode, just so he didn’t have to think through complicated things and have his brain be a spaghetti of thoughts. 

“Er-if it doesn’t bother you that much- can I stay with you? I mean- like- physical-distance-wise? I don’t have… anywhere else to go.” Jeraldy asked awkwardly, scorning himself for how pathetic he sounded. Like a lost puppy clinging to the single person he had met since the beach. 

Though, to be fair, he had lost memory of any of his goals in life or any sort of task he had been trying to do. He, quite literally, had nowhere to go and nothing to do. He was as useful as a beached whale at the moment, and he was getting quite sick of it. 

Luckily, the stranger seemed to notice and replied with a wry smile. “Yeah, no problem. Afterwards… well, some of my friends might be willing to give you a temporary space to live for a while since your facility was wrecked. No promises, though. It might take some explaining and odd apologies from your end- if you’re cool with that.”

Jeraldy immediately nodded - apologizing for things that he didn’t remember in exchange for a place of temporary residence while he recollected his memories was far too great of a deal to deny. The kindness that the stranger (he still winced at not having a name to label them with) had shown him was immeasurable, as was his gratitude. He was sure that if he was found by anybody else he’d be much less fortunate. 

Before he could even react, the stranger tossed something towards him - which he fumbled with a little bit before he managed to secure a good grip on it. It was small - roughly the size of his fist, and white with a large yellow stripe that stretched from the top to the little boom mic. It looked like a communicator of sorts- maybe a headset. Though, judging by the thin layer of moisture coating the laminated device, he guessed it wasn’t going to start working anytime soon. 

“It’s a scouter,” The stranger started, as though he were answering Jeraldy’s thoughts. “The glass was cracked so I took it out- but that can be easily replaced. Go on, put it on- I’ve never seen you- the past you- without it.” 

And he did - it felt heavy on the side of his head, and certainly a little cold, but it had fit as though it was meant to be there. Well, he certainly felt a lot cooler with it on. 

“Thank y-”

“No, don’t thank me for that. Everything else, yeah, sure, but that was _yours_. I’m just returning it to you.” The stranger said, sounding serious but wearing a rare smile. (For a while Jeraldy had been convinced he couldn’t smile at all.) “Jeez, you know, you’re a lot different than before.”

A hint of nervousness tipped into Jeraldy’s veins, avidly looking back at them. “Is that good or bad?”

“Good. Definitely good. You were kind of insufferable before.” The stranger said with a dry laugh that sounded a bit like a bark. 

Jeraldy couldn’t help but smile in relief. Well, at least he was doing one thing right. Being as bearable as possible to the person who had saved his life was something he needed to continue to keep on his tiny to-do list.

“Alright, if that’s settled, I’m going to go and take a walk alone for a bit. There’s been a lot that’s been going on. You stay here and keep an eye on the fire alright? I’ve made some soup in the hanging pot. Knock yourself out with that, but just letting you know that I’m not the best cook.” He said, and Jeraldy had a feeling that it was his cue to just smile and wave for a temporary goodbye. He might try some of the ‘mystery liquid’ that they had mentioned prior - his lungs were starting to ache from the brief conversation. 

But just as the stranger had neared the exit of the small wooded clearing they had made camp by, they paused for a moment to stare back at the green-eyed boy by the fire. 

“And… Jeraldy?” Saying his name so informally felt wrong. “I wouldn’t go looking for the Miley Corporation. It’s better if some things are left in the past.”

Jeraldy nodded obediently - to be frank, the idea of searching out pieces of his past hadn’t quite crossed his mind until the subject was brought up. Nevertheless, he owed quite a great deal to the stranger and wasn’t about to betray all of that over the curiosity of his previous occupation - his own ex-company. He’d find out some other way. A safer way. 

“Alright.” A pause. “I trust you.”

Jeraldy didn’t know just how much phrase meant. He didn’t need to know. Everything was just how it was meant to be.

Things were going to be okay. He was okay. He was going to see tomorrow. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! Sorry it’s so short, I’ll try to write some more next chapter!  
> I’ll try to update every 1-2 weeks or so? It depends on how motivated I am... Anyways, that’s about it for now!


End file.
